Evaluation of Low-Complexity Adaptive Full Direct-State Kalman Filter for Robust GNSS Tracking.

This paper evaluates the implementation of a low-complexity adaptive full direct-state Kalman filter (DSKF) for robust tracking of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals. The full DSKF includes frequency locked loop (FLL), delay locked loop (DLL), and phase locked loop (PLL) tracking schemes. The DSKF implementation in real-time applications requires a high computational cost. Additionally, the DSKF performance decays in time-varying scenarios where the statistical distribution of the measurements changes due to noise, signal dynamics, multi-path, and non-line-of-sight effects. This study derives the full lookup table (LUT)-DSKF: a simplified full DSKF considering the steady-state convergence of the Kalman gain. Moreover, an extended version of the loop-bandwidth control algorithm (LBCA) is presented to adapt the response time of the full LUT-DSKF. This adaptive tracking technique aims to increase the synchronization robustness in time-varying scenarios. The proposed tracking architecture is implemented in an GNSS hardware receiver with an open software interface. Different configurations of the adaptive full LUT-DSKF are evaluated in simulated scenarios with different dynamics and noise cases for each implementation. The results confirm that the LBCA used in the FLL-assisted-PLL (FAP) is essential to maintain a position, velocity, and time (PVT) fix in high dynamics.

Performance Evaluation of Adaptive Tracking Techniques with Direct-State Kalman Filter.

This paper evaluates the performance of robust adaptive tracking techniques with the direct-state Kalman filter (DSKF) used in modern digital global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers. Under the assumption of a well-known Gaussian distributed model of the states and the measurements, the DSKF adapts its coefficients optimally to achieve the minimum mean square error (MMSE). In time-varying scenarios, the measurements' distribution changes over time due to noise, signal dynamics, multipath, and non-line-of-sight effects. These kinds of scenarios make difficult the search for a suitable measurement and process noise model, leading to a sub-optimal solution of the DSKF. The loop-bandwidth control algorithm (LBCA) can adapt the DSKF according to the time-varying scenario and improve its performance significantly. This study introduces two methods to adapt the DSKF using the LBCA: The LBCA-based DSKF and the LBCA-based lookup table (LUT)-DSKF. The former method adapts the steady-state process noise variance based on the LBCA's loop bandwidth update. In contrast, the latter directly relates the loop bandwidth with the steady-state Kalman gains. The presented techniques are compared with the well-known state-of-the-art carrier-to-noise density ratio (C/N0)-based DSKF. These adaptive tracking techniques are implemented in an open software interface GNSS hardware receiver. For each implementation, the receiver's tracking performance and the system performance are evaluated in simulated scenarios with different dynamics and noise cases. Results confirm that the LBCA can be successfully applied to adapt the DSKF. The LBCA-based LUT-DSKF exhibits superior static and dynamic system performance compared to other adaptive tracking techniques using the DSKF while achieving the lowest complexity.

Evaluation of Adaptive Loop-Bandwidth Tracking Techniques in GNSS Receivers.

GNSS receivers use tracking loops to lock onto GNSS signals. Fixed loop settings limit the tracking performance against noise, receiver dynamics, and the current scenario. Adaptive tracking loops adjust these settings to achieve optimal performance for a given scenario. This paper evaluates the performance and complexity of state-of-the-art adaptive scalar tracking techniques used in modern digital GNSS receivers. Ideally, a tracking channel should be adjusted to both noisy and dynamic environments for optimal performance, defined by tracking precision and loop robustness. The difference between the average tracking jitter of the discriminator's output and the square-root CRB indicates the loops' tracking capability. The ability to maintain lock characterizes the robustness in highly dynamic scenarios. From a system perspective, the average lock indicator is chosen as a metric to measure the performance in terms of precision, whereas the average number of visible satellites being tracked indicates the system's robustness against dynamics. The average of these metrics' product at different noise levels leads to a reliable system performance metric. Adaptive tracking techniques, such as the FAB, the FL, and the LBCA, facilitate a trade-off for optimal performance. These adaptive tracking techniques are implemented in an open software interface GNSS hardware receiver. All three methods steer a third-order adaptive PLL and are tested in simulated scenarios emulating static and high-dynamic vehicular conditions. The measured tracking performance, system performance, and time complexity of each algorithm present a detailed analysis of the adaptive techniques. The results show that the LBCA with a piece-wise linear approximation is above the other adaptive loop-bandwidth tracking techniques while preserving the best performance and lowest time complexity. This technique achieves superior static and dynamic system performance being 1.5 times more complex than the traditional tracking loop.

[Intracranial calcifications on MRI]. / Calcificaciones intracraneales. Imagen por RM.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to show that the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings for intracranial calcifications previously demonstrated at computed tomography (CT) are variable and unspecific. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We present a study of 21 patients with calcified intracranial lesions of different etiologies detected at CT. We analyze the MRI signal characteristics in these lesions in T1- and T2-weighted sequences, taking the cerebral cortex as a reference. RESULTS: The MRI signal of the calcified intracranial lesion was variable. Nevertheless, the most frequent appearance on T1-weighted sequences was areas isointense with the cerebral cortex. The most frequent appearance on T2-weighted sequences was foci of hypointensity. CONCLUSIONS: Intracranial calcifications show variable MRI signal characteristics and have an unspecific appearance, making them difficult to characterize. MRI cannot reliably rule out or determine the presence of calcifications. CT study of intracranial lesions enables calcified lesions to be identified and characterized; therefore, CT is the technique of choice for the study of calcified lesions.

Calcificaciones intracraneales. Imagen por RM / Intracranial calcifications on MRI

Objetivo. El objetivo del estudio fue demostrar la variabilidad en la apariencia de las calcificaciones intracraneales y su inespecificidad en estudios de resonancia magnética (RM) demostradas previamente por tomografía computarizada (TC). Material y método. Presentamos un estudio de 21 pacientes con lesiones intracraneales calcificadas de diferente etiología objetivadas en TC y analizamos las características de señal en RM en el seno de dichas lesiones en secuencias potenciadas en T1 y T2, tomando como referencia la corteza cerebral. Resultados. La señal de las lesiones calcificadas intracraneales fue variable. Sin embargo, la apariencia más frecuente de las calcificaciones intracraneales en estudios de RM en secuencias potenciadas en T1 fue la de áreas isointensas con la corteza cerebral. En las secuencias potencias en T2 la presentación más común de las calcificaciones fue la de focos de hipointensidad. Conclusiones. Las calcificaciones intracraneales presentan características de señal variables en las imágenes de RM, siendo su aspecto inespecífico, lo que dificulta la caracterización de lesiones intracraneales. La RM no permite excluir o demostrar con seguridad la presencia de calcificaciones. La TC es la técnica de elección para el estudio de lesiones calcificadas, por tanto, el disponer de una TC craneal en el estudio de lesiones intracraneales permite su identificación y la caracterización de dichas lesiones

Objective. The aim of this study is to show that the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings for intracranial calcifications previously demonstrated at computed tomography (CT) are variable and unspecific. Material and method. We present a study of 21 patients with calcified intracranial lesions of different etiologies detected at CT. We analyze the MRI signal characteristics in these lesions in T1- and T2-weighted sequences, taking the cerebral cortex as a reference. Results. The MRI signal of the calcified intracranial lesion was variable. Nevertheless, the most frequent appearance on T1-weighted sequences was areas isointense with the cerebral cortex. The most frequent appearance on T2-weighted sequences was foci of hypointensity. Conclusions. Intracranial calcifications show variable MRI signal characteristics and have an unspecific appearance, making them difficult to characterize. MRI cannot reliably rule out or determine the presence of calcifications. CT study of intracranial lesions enables calcified lesions to be identified and characterized; therefore, CT is the technique of choice for the study of calcified lesions